Lafayette College policy now bans underground organizations from college property

View full sizeLafayette College President Daniel Weiss, seen here speaking at NCC's winter commencement, said a new policy prohibiting students from recruiting for unrecognized fraternity and other organizations on the college campus are not restricting students' rights.Express-Times Photo | MATT SMITH

Lafayette College students will be prohibited from recruiting members to unrecognized fraternities and other selective membership groups on college property under a new policy approved over the weekend.

The policy changes specifically prohibit individuals from operating as an unrecognized fraternity on college property. The prohibition covers hosting events, recruiting members and actively organizing -- but only while on college property.

“We are not restricting the rights of individual students to associate freely off campus,” Lafayette College President Daniel Weiss stressed in an interview Wednesday.

Approved during the weekend meeting of the college's board of trustees, the policy takes effect immediately, Weiss said.

A student charged with violating the code of conduct faces a disciplinary hearing, before either the administration or the conduct board. Depending on the student’s record and the circumstances of the violation, a student could face probation or expulsion.

College property covered

The new policy covers all college property, meaning a student in Lafayette-owned housing off campus would be governed by the same restrictions against unrecognized groups as a student on campus.

“If they’re operating a fraternity that is not authorized by the college, they cannot recruit people on our campus,” Weiss said. “Out in the world, they can do what they want.”

Because unrecognized organizations also are not usually recognized by national fraternities, the college cannot sanction or restrict the groups as a whole, Weiss said. Rather, if an individual is caught recruiting or advertising for an unrecognized group on campus, the individual would face the conduct review, Weiss said.

“That behavior -- recruiting for organizations that don’t have authorization -- is a violation under the policy,” Weiss said.

A small group of people claiming affiliation with Kappa Delta Rho, a national fraternity whose Lafayette branch is suspended, were allegedly involved in recruiting efforts during the 2012 All-College Day celebration when Glenn died. The freshman from Montclair, N.J., was 19.

“The students who are involved in the incident on All-College Day who were formerly associated with KDR and who were continuing to recruit were punished and disciplined,” Weiss said.

The specifics of that discipline is confidential, but the students involved are no longer connected with KDR, Weiss said.

Recognized fraternities go through a series of training sessions on issues such as hazing, alcohol use and sexual misconduct, Weiss said in a campuswide memo dated Tuesday. The recognized fraternities and sororities on Lafayette’s campus also must successfully complete an annual accreditation process.

The college also has taken steps to reduce alcohol consumption among underage students, especially at its homecoming and Lafayette-Lehigh weekends. Both weekends are what the college considers “high-risk drinking weekends,” but, in the 2012-13 school year, the amount of alcohol-related incidents was reduced thanks to alcohol-free social events and free food and water offered during tailgating, according to the memo.

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NEW POLICY

Lafayette College President Daniel Weiss' campuswide memo detailing new on-campus prohibitions affecting unrecognized fraternities can be read at tinyurl.com/aqysau2.